It's bittersweet, to be brief, to finally see Lupin III: The First. Because that same year, a tragedy happened that may have marked the end of our gentleman thief, unless someone picks up the pieces. The movie is essentially a CGI work that was made as recently as 2019, and it would be a year prior that I was even aware of it. The series itself is quite lengthy, with manga, anime, and a few movies under their belt, even crossing over with the likes of Detective Conan, as if to compliment the thief/detective combo.
The long and short of it is that Arsene Lupin III is a gentleman thief of an ancestral line, if not a bit of a sleaze... but even among thieves he has an honor system that crosses with more sinister criminals, and is constantly pursued by one Koichi Zenigata, an inspector of Interpol that has it in for Lupin. He is sometimes aided (and sometimes not) by Daiskue Jigen, a sharpshooter and best friend of Lupin's; Goemon Ishikawa XIII, an ancestral samurai of his renegade ancestor of the same name eland experienced with his sword Zantetsuken; and Fujiko Mine, a diva who utilizes her sex appeal to accomplish her objectives, often to the chagrin of the other members, including Lupin.
In the movie, an event in someone's past leads her, under the instruction or coercion of her grandfather, to swipe a treasure possibly connected to the supposed resurgence of Adolf Hitler, centeres around an artifact Professor Bresson obtained prior to his passing. This, however, is also the target of Lupin and his gang, which leads to a race to uncover what that treasure is, and that this unwilling thief and Lupin may have more in common than they thing as they reluctantly work together.
Made entirely in CGI, this movie captures well the antics and zaniness the series is well known for, and didn't lose a step in the transition, but has yet to receive a dubbing, despite being okay'd for North American release via GKIDS, with help of Fathom Events last year, with supposed redistribution later this year via GKIDS and Shout! Factory. The movie, subtitled, is also available via Netflix, though it's uncertain if this is a region-locked matter.
I call it bittersweet, because that same year, Kazuhiko Kato, the brains behind the series who was more well known as Monkey Punch, fell to pneumonia on April 11th, months prior to the initial December 9th release in Japan. With the brains behind it buried, it is unlikely we will see any more of him unless an understudy exists who can take the mantle proper. It is unclear who will voice who in the dubbed version of this film, which was teased some time back that same year, but it's ironic, albeit sad, that a film called The First was for the series possibly its last. The only critique I have is that the subbing may have been... off-kilter to be nicr, but even then I understood the gist of what they were saying... though this is also likely not the official translation I watched.
While not perfect, the film did damn well from beginning to end, earning a solid 9 of 10 from me. I only hope this isn't the end for Lupin III, even if they should resort to being occasional crossover characters with TMS Entertainment sibling Detective Conan.
